Pakistan has a rich and diverse tradition of poetry that includes Urdu poetry, English poetry, Sindhi poetry, Pashto poetry, Punjabi poetry, Saraiki poetry, Baluchi poetry, and Kashmiri poetry. Sufi poetry has a strong tradition in Pakistan and the poetry of popular Sufi poets is often recited and sung.
Persian poetry is still common in Pakistan as a literary vehicle because of the centuries of Persian influence on the region. Many Sufi poets wrote their Kalam in Persian. Pakistan's national poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal also wrote many volumes of poetry in Persian.
Poetry is widely read across Pakistan. Gatherings for the recitations of poetry known as Mushaira frequently take place. Verses of popular poets are also used as political slogans by political activists. The national poet of Pakistan is Muhammad Iqbal.
Poets by language
Urdu poetry
- Ahmad Faraz
- Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi
- Amjad Islam Amjad
- Faiz Ahmed Faiz
- Ehsan Sehgal
- Parveen Shakir
- Tanwir Phool
- Fehmida Riaz
- Habib Jalib
- Hafeez Jullundhri
- Hakim Ahmad Shuja
- Iftikhar Arif
- John Elia
- Josh Malihabadi
- Kishwar Naheed
- Majeed Amjad
- Mehmood Sham
- Mohsin Naqvi
- Mohsin Bhopali
- Munir Niazi
- Nasir Kazmi
- Qateel Shifai
- Shakeb Jalali
- Raees Warsi
Comical poetry
- Anwar Masood
- Dilawar Figar
- Zamir Jafri
English poetry
- Daud Kamal
- Alamgir Hashmi
- Zulfikar Ghose
- Shahid Suhrawardy
- Maki Kureishi
- Kaleem Omar
- Omer Tarin
Punjabi poetry
- Bulleh Shah
- Fariduddin Ganjshakar
- Mian Muhammad Bakhsh
- Waris Shah
- Sultan Bahu
- Shah Hussain
- Ustad Daman
Saraiki poetry
- Khawaja Farid
- Sachal Sarmast
- Bulleh Shah
- Sultan Bahu
Sindhi poetry
- Shah Abdul Latif
- Sachal Sarmast
- Lal Shahbaz Qalander
- Shah Inayatullah
- Shaikh Ayaz
Pashto poetry
- Khushal Khan Khattak
- Rahman Baba
- Ameer Hamza Shinwari
- Khan Abdul Ghani Khan
- Ajmal Khattak
Balochi poetry
Gul Khan Nasir
See also
- List of Pakistani writers
